The present invention relates to the field of cooking and, more particularly, to an apparatus and methods for cooking meat.
Over the years, various devices and systems have been developed for cooking meat such as in an oven, on a stove top, over a grill, or open flame of fire. These meats, for example, include beef, lamb, poultry, pork, seafood, and other types of meats. In order to cook these meats, the devices often use either heat from an oven, stove, or grill, or often have their own built-in heat source, e.g., which heats from a power source.
Also, for cooking poultry or fowl and some other types of meats, it has been recognized as being desirable to marinade and baste the meat for added flavor. Some poultry basting devices recognize that it is important to get steam from a liquid, i.e., either the meat liquid itself, water, or a marinade, into the inner portions of the meat. An example can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,904 by Arcabosso titled xe2x80x9cSelf-Operated Interior Baster For Food Objects.xe2x80x9d
More recently, it has become popular to use open cans of beer or lemonade to insert into an inner cavity of a chicken or other fowl when positioned on a grill so that the steam from the heated can of beer or lemonade acts as a marinade to baste or steam the inner cavity of the chicken when roasting. Also, similar cannister type devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,320 by Demaree titled xe2x80x9cDevice For Cooking Fowlxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,131 by Holland titled xe2x80x9cRoasting Stand Adapted To Deliver Flavored Steam During The Cooking Process.xe2x80x9d Nevertheless, without the addition of a drip pan, these devices allow juices and marinade to readily drip or drain from the fowl into the grill or open flames and provide little or no heat control or shielding from the heat. This, in turn, can cause the chicken or other fowl to blacken or char quickly, hurt the taste, make the chicken less appetizing, and often not allow for thorough and controlled cooking of the meat.
Additionally, when the cannister type devices are positioned into an inner cavity of a fowl, the outer peripheries of the cannister abut against the inner surfaces of the fowl in the region where contact between the meat and cannister is made. This leaves little or no space for steam to cook the fowl. Instead, the metal contacts the surface and transfers heat to the surface. Further, openings are also often left at the upper or surrounding lower ends of the cavity so that steam readily escapes or leaves the cavity once it is applied. This can make the cooking process longer and can reduce the flavor because much of the steam, and any marinade flavor associated therewith, is not applied to the meat.
With the foregoing in mind, the present invention advantageously provides a meat cooking apparatus and method which not only roasts the meat but enhances exposure of inner surfaces of a meat, such as fowl or poultry, when positioned thereon to the marinade or flavor of the steam, e.g., infusion, during cooking to thereby use a combination of cooking techniques. The present invention also advantageously provides a meat cooking apparatus and methods which allow a user to readily use different types of marinades or cooking liquids to enhance cooking of the meat with steam from the marinade being exposed to inner surfaces of the meat for enhanced steam absorption of the meat by pressure sealing regions in upper and lower portions of a cavity of the meat and by not blocking ready access of the flavored steam to the inner surfaces of the cavity of the meat. The present invention additionally provides a meat cooking apparatus and methods which have a plurality of cooking components but are still easy to assemble, easy to use, and easy to clean after use. The apparatus and methods also allow vegetables, garnishes, or other food products to be readily roasted or cooked in regions surrounding where the meat is cooked. The present invention further advantageously provides an apparatus and method for cooking meat which greatly inhibits or prevents charring or blackening of the skin of the meat during the cooking process and yet readily speeds up cooking time for cooking the meat. The present invention still further provides an apparatus and methods for more controlled cooking of meat such as poultry, especially in commercial cooking applications.
More particularly, a meat cooking apparatus of the present invention preferably includes a proximal-end cavity opening seal and steam passing member positioned to substantially close a proximal end opening of a main inner cavity of a fowl and allow steam to pass therethrough to the main inner cavity. The apparatus also preferably has a distal-end cavity opening seal member positioned to substantially close a distal end opening of the main inner cavity of the fowl and substantially prevent steam from readily escaping through the distal end opening.
The meat cooking apparatus of the present invention also preferably has a base having at least one liquid container connected to an upper surface of the base and a liquid collecting cavity formed in the upper surface of the base between outer walls of the liquid container and outer peripheries of the base. The apparatus still also preferably includes at least one separate meat infusor positioned to contact the base and to overlie and substantially surround at least inner walls of the liquid container. The meat infusor preferably provides the proximal-end cavity opening seal and steam passing member and preferably includes an infusor body which has a proximal end portion with a greater circumference than the distal end portion to enhance insertion of the meat infusor into the main inner cavity of the fowl to be cooked and enhance closing off of the inner cavity with the proximal end portion when the meat infusor is inserted into the main inner cavity. The meat infusor preferably has an infusor body and a plurality of openings positioned in side peripheries of the infusor body so that when liquid positioned in the liquid container heats, steam from the liquid readily travels through the infusor body, through the openings therein, and toward inner surfaces of meat positioned to overlie the infusor body.
In effect, this substantially or fully closing off of the main inner cavity advantageously allows the fowl or other meat to be cooked by at least two types of methods, namely roasting from the heat of the grill, oven, stove, or other heat source and steam infusing from the steam generated and infused into the inner cavity from the heated liquid container and through the infusor. The sealing or substantial sealing of the meat cavity, for example, can advantageously provide a steam-type pressure to enhance penetration or absorption of flavor from the marinade in the meat such as in the breast meat of poultry. These areas, otherwise, are often difficult to penetrate or flavor with other roasting devices.
The present invention also advantageously provides a method of cooking meat. This method preferably includes substantially sealing both lower and upper openings of an inner cavity of a fowl when positioned in a vertical position on a substantially horizontally extending cooking surface and supplying steam to the inner cavity through the lower end or proximal opening of the inner cavity to thereby increase the steam pressure within the inner cavity.
Another method of cooking meat, such as fowl, is provided which preferably includes simultaneously supplying roasting heat to outer surfaces of a fowl and supplying steam to the inner cavity when the inner cavity is substantially sealed. The method can also advantageously include providing a meat infusor to substantially seal a proximal end opening of the inner cavity of the fowl through which steam is supplied to the inner cavity and providing a meat plug member to substantially seal a distal end opening of the inner cavity of the fowl.
Yet another method of cooking meat, such as fowl, is provided which preferably includes positioning a meat infusor to substantially close off outer peripheries of a proximal end of a main inner cavity of the fowl and supplying steam through the meat infusor to the inner cavity of the fowl. The steam is preferably provided by the step of heating a liquid underlying the meat infusor with a heat source so that the liquid changes state to the steam. The method can also include supplying heat to outer surfaces of the fowl to thereby roast the fowl with the same heat source which heats the liquid that changes state to form the steam.